The Worlds of Arthur Staaz

dark architectures

There is in the world certain examples of dark architecture. These are by no means celebrated works. You will not find these designs in leading architectural magazines. The architects of these structures practice in the shadows, practicing strange methods, employing unusual materials. One finds in them a certain sense of monument, though the untrained eye might pass these buildings without seeing much of note. But look closer, and you will see irrational angles, pervasive shadows (even in the brightest light), spaces that impose isolation. Weird vibrations arise from the design, suggestive of the batting of a million insect wings. The observer’s mind begins to play tricks, manipulated by cryptic algorithms built into the walls, the columns, the windows and doors, the very design of the structures. Such buildings will be informed by the aesthetics of decay. The aspiration of architects who design buildings such as these is to attain perfection in chaos.

Walk around your neighborhoods. Your city districts. Follow the route of dilapidation. Look carefully. You will likely find structures that appear to be built mostly of gloom, of bad dreams, of the bones of dead and the skin of cadavers. Here you will find the most accurate reflections of human habitation, of architecture as a true art.